Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships
Bison Break 39-Year-Old Record in 4x800 Relay, Sit 3rd at PL Indoor Meet
2/21/2015 7:24:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A gold-medal performance with school and conference records to boot in the 4x800 relay highlighted Bucknell's day at the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Bison are in third place behind Navy and Lehigh with plenty of points still up for grabs on Sunday.
Louis Tobias, John Westwood, Alex Jagelsky and Andrew Garcia-Garrison made history in the 4x800 relay, winning by .11 seconds in a photo finish over Army. That Bison foursome posted a time of 7:28.36, which was better than three seconds faster than the previous Patriot League mark of 7:31.91 set by American in 2007.
The previous Bucknell record was 7:29.44, set all the way back on 1976. Hall-of-Famer Tom McLean, who won an individual NCAA championship in the 800 meters, ran the anchor leg on that relay 39 years ago. Before Saturday, the top four 4x800 relay times in school history were all set in the 1970s.
Garcia-Garrison, who set the school record in the mile earlier this season, ran a blazing 1:49.2 anchor leg, bringing the Bison from third place to the narrow victory over the Black Knights. Bucknell won the 4x800 for the sixth time in Patriot League history and for the first time since 2011.
Bucknell had a strong day in the field events, with three scorers each in the 35-pound weight throw and the high jump. Jack Fellows was runner-up in the weight throw with a toss of 60 feet, 10 inches. Olu Shoyoye placed sixth (56-5.25) and Brian Monahan seventh (55-0.75) for the Bison.
In the high jump, freshman Nicholas Lombardo placed third with a personal-best leap of 6-8.25. That ties Lombardo for ninth on the list of Bucknell's all-time best performers. Elijah Kay took seventh (6-6.25) and Adam Karl eighth (6-4.25) in the high jump.
The final three events of the heptathlon were held on Saturday morning, and Ben Burgess and Christopher D'Aliso took the Nos. 3 and 4 spots. Burgess compiled 4,585 points, while D'Aliso bumped up his PR by 17 points with a total of 4,285.
Also scoring for the Bison was Kevin Tapper in the long jump with a mark of 22-3.75.
“We exceeded our expected point total by a few points and got the guys in the finals of the dashes and hurdles that we were hoping,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “Burgess and D'Aliso had great days in the multi, and Fellows came through for us on his last throw in the weight to earn second place. Lombardo qualified for the IC4As in high jump to earn the bronze. The 4x800 may have been the most exciting race I have ever seen. Breaking school and league records for the photo finish win gives us great momentum going into tomorrow.”
The championship meet concludes on Sunday with points in 14 events up for grabs.
Players Mentioned
